To many people (myself included), the thought of skydiving is just downright terrifying! Taking a small plane up several thousand feet, opening the plane door, and jumping out of it is just too much to handle! For years, skydiving was something that I always wanted to do, but had put it off for obvious reasons. What had been stopping me all these years was fear. (Ugh! FEAR)! However, I mustered up some serious guts to finally check this adventure off my bucket list in one of the most beautiful places in the world - Dubai! Here’s my story on kicking fear’s ass and completing my 1st ever tandem skydive with Skydive Dubai!
Naturally, I thought that this would be the PERFECT place to experience something as big as my 1st skydive! When I started my trip planning to Dubai, I knew that I couldn’t visit this city of grandeur and not skydive! That would be ridiculous!
However, there were a few hurdles that I had to jump over first.
Was I mentally prepared to skydive? (NO)!
Did I really WANT to skydive? (Sure...I think)!
Was I going to let fear keep me from doing something INCREDIBLE?! (HELL NO)!
I couldn't come to this BEAUTIFUL city and not skydive!!!
Skydive Dubai offers 2 thrilling drop zones for your skydiving experience – The Desert Campus and The Palm! Prices will vary for both with the Desert Campus being 1699 AED and The Palm being 2199 AED. If you choose The Palm drop zone, a deposit of 999 AED is due at the time of your booking. The remainder of 1200 AED will be due the day of your jump. *Note: Prices are subject to change*
The Desert Campus @ Skydive Dubai!
The Palm drop zone was definitely what I wanted, but I had no clue what 2199 AED converted over to in American dollars. I soon found out that it would cost me about $600.00 to make this jump happen! (Ouch)!
Expensive? ABSOLUTELY.
But did I still want to do it? A B S O L U T E L Y!
From that day on, frivolous spending became a thing of the past for me. This jump had to happen! And in a couple of months, I had the deposit saved to secure my skydiving spot!
I arrived at Skydive Dubai 1 hour prior to my jump to pay the remaining cost for my skydive. You’ll have to also arrive earlier than your scheduled jump time to take a short safety briefing as well. While I waited, I took my safety briefing, got fitted in my harness and tried my best to get my stomach out of my throat (I was beyond NERVOUS)! After a short wait I was paired with my tandem skydiving instructor & photographer for my jump!
Your personal photographer does an interview of you before your jump and snaps pictures of you before you get on the plane with your skydiving instructor. They literally capture every moment of this experience for you! I did my photos and my quirky little video and got strapped into my harness. It’s now time to get on the plane to take that jump! My heart is probably going a million beats per minute at this point!
Once I’m on the plane with the other jumpers, instructors, and photographers, sh!t REALLY started to get real and I immediately begin to second guess this entire idea! Anxiety kicked in and I’m thinking to myself, "Do I really want to take this jump? Or do I stay on the plane and waste $600.00?! What am I going to do?!” I’m TERRIFIED!!
Finally, I was up next and at the window of the plane getting ready to jump. I look down 13,000 ft. from the plane window, with the most PERFECT view of the Palm Jumeirah and almost had a heart attack! All I could do was inwardly curse myself out, “Kenya! W T F were you thinking booking this? You know you’re not THIS adventurous! You know it’s not too late to stop this!! Call it off!! NOW, Kenya!”
And just like that, out the plane I went! I’m actually upside down in the air! Free-falling towards the ground at over 100 mph!
I couldn’t breathe and it showed on my face while my photographer was capturing every RIDICULOUS facial expression I was making! All I kept thinking was, “When is this going to be over”?!
All I could think is...."WTF am I doing"?! LOL!
I think I died and came back to life in this moment! LOL!!
I REALLY wanted to achieve one of those skydives where I was doing something super cool in the air, but unfortunately I resembled a fish out of water! It was a hot mess! Hahahahahaha!
Once you’re out of the plane, the wind comes at you FAST! Your stomach is not dropping – like it would be if you were on a rollercoaster (which is what a lot of people assume about skydiving), but it is most definitely hard to breathe! In the midst of all of what was going on, the views of Palm Jumeirah came into view and it was INCREDIBLE! Simply stunning!
An experience I will NEVER forget!!
FINALLY, the instructor releases our parachute! After 60 seconds of what felt like an eternity, the free fall was over (YES)! My photographer took off back towards the drop zone and me and my instructor were left gliding smooth towards the ground.
Let me tell you, those 5 minutes back to the ground were incredible! Dubai from above is BREATHTAKING! The skyscrapers, the ocean, the Palm Jumeriah – just awe inspiring! I was so amazed! I kept saying, “Weeeeeeeeeeeee”! I’m sure my instructor thought I was super lame. But who cares?! LOL! I was having the time of my life since that horrid free fall was over! (LOL)!
Once we landed, the photographer was there to capture it all! I was literally on cloud 9 and was ready to scrape up another 2199 AED to do it again! But I was also happy to be back on the ground safely and in one piece. I did a quick interview and after that, about an hour or so wait, I had the pictures and video from this UNBELIEVABLE experience! Huge shout out to my skydive instructor & photographer! They were THE BEST!
I did it y'all! Heeeeeeeeey!
Was this fun? (ABSOLUTELY)!
Would I do it again? (I plead the 5th! Hahahaha)!
If you find yourself in Dubai and may be in need of an adrenaline rush, then Skydive Dubai is the place for you! This experience was surreal and it's something that I will NEVER, EVER forget!
☀️ BE ON TIME FOR YOUR JUMP! Skydive Dubai is on a specific schedule and they stick to it.
☀️ Plan to spend 2-3 hours @ Skydive Dubai for your jump!
☀️ Have F U N with your interview before & after your jump! These are your memories! Make them worthwhile!
☀️ Wear proper clothing and be respectful of the UAE’s culture.
☀️ Bring identification with you; Driver’s License, Passport, etc.
☀️ Check out more info on Skydive Dubai’s FAQ’s page!
☀️ Enjoy the hell out of your skydive!
For the full video of my skydive, check it out on my YouTube - HERE!
Happy travels to Dubai!
Let's chat! Have you been skydiving before?!
Or are you thinking about doing your 1st tandem jump?
Drop a comment below and let me know!
